WASPs and classically dressed men should not wear a great deal of jewelry. I think men should stick to a watch, cuff links, and possibly one ring other than a wedding band. If one chooses to wear a ring, it needs to be a classic style. I personally cannot think of anything more classic than a gold signet ring. It should be worn on either the ring finger, or the little finger. It should be engraved with the owner's initials, or a coat of arms. Different rules apply for women, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to wear bracelets, necklaces, etc. Signet rings make great gifts, and it is much better to receive one than to buy it personally.
16 comments:
I don't like a lot of jewelry on a man either. I don't like necklaces on men unless we are on vacation...somewhere tropical. For some reason it is acceptable to me then? Anyway, my college class ring looks like a signet ring.I love it.
But since I'm also a girl... I love wearing all sorts of jewelry.
Richard, again, I agree with you. Jewelry on a man should be limited to watch, wedding ring, and cufflinks. I really do not like superfluous jewelry on a man. A signet or class ring, especially. To my mind there is something suspect about a guy sporting a pinky ring, even if he is, say, royalty.
LBT - I agree, I would never wear a ring on my little finger. I don't think it is incorrect, but it is incorrect for me!
Americans...South or North...have no business wearing a signet ring. Ralph Lauren wears one and he looks like a schmo. Only Brits should wear them and only those with an authentic coat of arms. And those guts are usually huge tools.
Nice post. I don't particularly care for rings but a signet is simple enough to avoid hurting my eyes. Same goes for college and fraternal order rings.
Hey Tintin; Colin Powell can wear one. He has a coat of arms. Don't believe me check out these two links:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/05/12/wcol12.xml
http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/395.html
Stephen- Thanks for the articles. My father was a career army officer and I served in the 82nd as well.
That Colin would apply for a Scottish coat of arms is bizarre. How he did it is even more bizzare. I'm not so sure he wants a coat of arms for a signet ring or to adorn the letter head of his consulting company.
You can also buy Royal titles in the UK as well as Europe. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
tintin,
I find it funny that you say that only the English should be allowed to wear the ring. I think you should read the history of the signet ring.
http://www.heraldicrings.com/Signet_Rings_History2.html
Signet rings, funny that I'm wearing the same ring that my father and his father wore before him. Right forefinger as that is the only place it fits. Since I'm not noble born, it's our initials.
I like signet rings on both men and women. It is a ring that really has class.I have worn mine on my pinky for 20 years. I recently gave my husband a signet ring for our anniverary,and yes for his pinky, so were 2 peas in a pod now.
Actually a traditional signet ring has only the family crest (sometimes with family motto - eg. see Prince Charles'), generally NOT its coat-of-arms, nor coat of arms + crest + motto...& it is also traditionally worn on left "pinky" finger rather than ring finger - large enough to be masculine on a specific man's little finger...furthermore it is usually oval, solid back, shoulder as wide as ring's head, intaglio / incised engraving (to make impression in sealing wax) & made of die-stamped 10k, or 14k solid gold - inadvisable to go higher than 18k, (more rarely a semi-precious stone is used for the head)...
Tintin, what are you on about?
There were loads of coats of arms in the USA. More than half of the signers of the Declaration had them
http://www.americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=Main.Notable
Anyway... If you're considering putting a coat of arms or crest on a signet or cuffs, do think twice. Unless you've inherited it through your family, or created one for yourself in a country that permits it (like the US and most of continental Europe), using one is seriously poor taste.
I guarantee you ANY site that claims to sell you "your family crest" is conning you out of your money. They randomly pick one of dozens of coats of arms belonging to someone with a similar last name out of freely available arms registers.
That's like a genealogy site using a phone book to find someone in cleveland with your last name and selling you their family tree as if you were related.
Would you advise getting either 9, 14 or 18ct yellow gold for a signet ring?
I've heard that 18ct gold may receive dents and scratches more quickly. Plus does it look a bit too yellow and 'in your face'...?
What do most people go for, and why?
I'd appreciate your help.
What size man's crest "pinky ring" would you recommend?...16 x 14 mm?, bigger or smaller?...I know it undoubtedly depends on size of hand but in general what would you recommend?... Thank you... wggmn3@gmail.com
What size man's crest "pinky ring" would you recommend?...16 x 14 mm?, bigger or smaller?...I know it undoubtedly depends on size of hand but in general what would you recommend?... Thank you... wggmn3@gmail.com
First of all, a coat of arms, in England at least, can be granted to anyone of "gentle" status, usually meaning that they own property. Noble birth is not the determining factor. Secondly, if you can prove your descent from someone who had arms you can register arms yourself. I would imagine that Colin Powell was able to prove descent from someone who had arms from the Scottish college of Heralds. Thirdly, although here in the U.S. we don't have any sort of feudal system with a college of heralds, nonetheless there IS an American College of Heraldry which will, for a price, help you design and then register armorial bearings. This registry has no LEGAL force, however, if I ever feel the need to register arms here, and I don't feel like spending what it would cost to prove my family's armigerous standing with the College of Heralds in Great Britain, this is the route I will take.
i think in today's settings, both men and women can definitely wear jewelries. in fact, men are even the one's who wear those heavy metal chain either it's fancy or real. well, it must be the fads nowadays.
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